Success

The Cycle of Leadership: Give to Receive

There is a cycle to energy.  It can’t be created or destroyed; it simply changes forms.  According to The Law of Conservation of Energy, potential energy can be converted to kinetic energy, which can be converted to thermal energy, but the original energy remains.

There is a cycle to water.  The limited amount of water continuously cycles through its various forms: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation

 

There is also a cycle to Successful leadership:  Give that which you have received and open the pathway to receive even more.

It’s now part of everyday knowledge that Steve Jobs received the idea for the computer mouse at a visit to Xerox labs. He gave that idea to the world through the Apple Macintosh, and the mouse became part of every computer.  The mouse lasted until the cycle of inspiration came around and the world received the touch screen in the iPhone and iPad.

The successful leader will teach, speak and write about the leadership lessons they know and receive so that they can be part of the cycle of leadership.

Look for ways to pass on knowledge as fast you can and as fast as your audience can receive.  Trust me, you will receive more than you can imagine in return.

Control – Successful Leaders Let Go

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The most important step in letting your leadership team grow – letting your control go.

At some point you have taught your leaders enough, and they are ready to be successful on their own. But they will never reach their best unless you release them to try.

Releasing control is easier than you may think.  It’s just like when your child rides their bike for the first time without training wheels. You run next to them, holding onto the back of the bike until they get up enough speed, then you do it…You let go of the bike and they ride as you encourage them with every turn of the wheel.

A successful leader stops running and lets their leaders get the feel of leadership.

Let your leaders run the meetings and projects and make decisions. Stay close by their side to remind them of all that they’ve learned, and encourage their leadership skills.

Successful Leaders Don’t Rock the Boat

Successful sailboat captains can attest to one sure thing: As long as a boat is moving, it’s rocking.

You see, in leadership, just as in boating, you can’t expect calm waters to move you forward toward success. The only time you don’t feel the boat rocking is when you aren’t in the boat; the faster you are moving forward, the more the boat rocks.

As a successful leader you should remember this lesson: If your team is moving forward, then the boat will already be rocking. If your team is not moving forward, then no amount of rocking will make the boat move forward.

If you want to make a difference in this world, if you want to be a successful leader, don’t rock the boat; use the waves of success to lift and carry you forward.

Now Is The Time To Share What You Know

Each year I get together with about one hundred leaders from around the world to be mentored by John Maxwell over several days.

John and his team take us places we might never see on our own, where we learn about leadership from the best. This year was Boston’s Fenway Park where we talked with Hall of Fame Red Sox great Jim Rice.

Along with lessons on leadership from Jim Rice, we all took batting practice and had the chance to shag fly balls in the outfield.

Jim told us how he was mentored as a ball player throughout his life. He honed his athletic ability in his neighborhood growing up with older kids where he learned how to work hard to be better every day. The art of catching a fly ball off the Green Monster came from Carl Yastrzemski when Jim was a rookie. Ted Williams showed him how to hit out of a slump before Rice was in a slump.

He then showed all one hundred of us how to swing the bat to ensure a single the way Ted Williams taught him. Wow, batting lessons from a hall of famer – it doesn’t get better than that.

Jim Rice taught me that sharing what you know with others is best done before they need to use your knowledge.

Leadership Vision Set Into Motion

Whether you are starting a new team, or just became the leader of an existing one, things will be different for this particular set of people on this particular team.  They might all buy into the goals you set, but your vision for how to achieve those goals will be unique and new.

For your vision to be effective you have to set it into motion.

The best way to set your vision into motion is through success.  And the best type of success is that which consistently delivers many small successes for each team member.

Vaclav Havel, the first president of the Czech Republic said:

“Vision is not enough. It must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps; we must step up the stairs.”

I call this “stepping up the stairs” quick wins.  For quick wins to be effective they must both support your vision, and have an immediate impact on your team. Your team needs to see progress toward the goals, and feel their job satisfaction improving. Pick five to eight things that you can personally drive to success and make them happen.  This will set your vision into motion.

The ABC’s of Successful Leaders: Get The Best Information

Benjamin Disraeli was a prominent member of the British government during the 1800s. He served in leadership positions for three decades including twice as prime minister. Disraeli said:

“The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes…The more extensive a man’s knowledge of what has been done, the greater will be his power of knowing what to do.”

In order for you to be a success as a leader you need to understand the conditions in and around your team.

A) What internal and external pressures HAS the team faced in the past?

B) What internal and external pressures IS the team facing now?

C) What internal and external pressures WILL the team face in the future?

Here is the process to gain that understanding:

A) Look for information that already exists in books, surveys, or websites – This is a great place to learn what did happen and what is happening

B) Listen to people with information gained through experience -Talk to your team, your boss, experts in the industry

C) Learn what people need by analyzing the two together – Decide how you will achieve your goals now that you understand the conditions

The information you gather by looking, listening, and learning will be that on which you base all future steps to successful leadership.

 

Leaders, resolve to listen first and maximize second

Blaine Lee, one of the founding partners of the Franklin Covey Institute said, “Before you attempt to set things right, make sure you see things right.”

If you are a leader who has passion for maximizing everything and everyone, that is a great strength and a great calling. People need leaders who are in their corner, always encouraging them to be their best.

In the spirit of wanting to help everyone succeed, they offer their opinions freely. Leaders that see so much potential in every person and every situation should know that if they aren’t careful their actions can come across as being critical.  Believe me; I speak from personal experience in this area.

If you are one of these passionate leaders, here’s what you should do.  When you really feel that passion to maximize someone or something, before you offer your opinion, remember Blaine Lee’s advice and Resolve to listen first and maximize second.

Leaders with a history of success have developed a habit of working hard to achieve their success.

Vince Lombardi said, “Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” How does winning become a habit? Sarah Knowles Bolton, a press correspondent and author of the late 1800s, wrote several books that summarized the lives of successful people: statesmen, artists, and scientists, to name a few. In her research she found that “The victory of success is half done when one gains the habit of work.”

The word habit is usually associated with something bad that needs to be stopped.  Hard work is one habit that you can be proud to claim. Does your history of success show that you have developed the habit of hard work?

Those who have learned from past mistakes—their own or others’—are better prepared to lead than those who have never experienced mistakes at all.

 

(Photo credit: elycefeliz)

Fred Brooks, the man who managed the development of IBM’s System/360 family of computers knows a thing or two about good judgment, he wrote the book on it. Brooks wrote about his experiences managing systems development at IBM in the book The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering.

The book coined what is known as “Brook’s law,” which states that “Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.” Brooks discovered this law when he himself added more programmers to a project falling behind schedule, then concluded that it delayed the project even further. Using this and other examples of what he learned in his career, Brooks is quoted as saying, “Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment.”

What are you doing to prepare yourself for leadership?  Making some mistakes on your own is inevitable and one way to learn; but learning from the mistakes of others is the easier route.  Are you reading books?  Do you have a mentor?

What is the best way to learn about the challenges you will be facing in new surroundings?

Achieving higher learning through the use of computers. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This won’t be news to anyone:  We live in an information society.  In my family there are three laptops, two ipads, four smartphones, and many books in our library (the books are mostly mine – I haven’t completely given in yet).

I think we are pretty average for a family with two Millennial children and parents who have the daily news pushed to our iphones and ipads.  This is the way information is shared today; online and at your fingertips anytime you need it or want it.

As you can tell I love information, and I love how we can access it anywhere anytime.  But, and this is a big one, I believe you learn the most from being around people and learning first-hand what challenges exist in new surroundings.

George Washington Carver said, “Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books.”

Navy Commander Michael Abrashoff had a saying by which he led: “The most important thing that a commander can do is to see the ship from the eyes of the crew.”

Do you agree that studying on the internet and from books is great, but without living with the issues you won’t know what’s really going on?

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